Henry George Keller

1869–1949

Henry George Keller (1869–1949) was born at sea to parents immigrating to Cleveland, and trained at the Cleveland School of Art (1887–90) before further study in Karlsruhe, Düsseldorf, and Munich (1899–1902). He joined the Cleveland School of Art’s faculty (later the Cleveland Institute of Art) in 1902 and taught there until 1945, becoming a central figure of the Cleveland School movement and founding a summer school in Berlin Heights, Ohio, around 1908. Working mainly in watercolor and known for animal and Midwestern subjects, Keller was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1939 and won purchase prizes from the Witte Memorial Museum (1928) and the Art Institute of Chicago’s international watercolor exhibition (1929). His wife died in 1948, after which he moved to San Diego, California, where he died the following year.

Links: https://case.edu/ech/articles/k/keller-henry-george
https://www.annexgalleries.com/artists/biography/1217/Keller/Henry

Sources: Case Western Reserve University. "Keller, Henry George." Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Accessed October 14, 2026. https://case.edu/ech/articles/k/keller-henry-george.

The Annex Galleries. "Henry George Keller." Accessed October 14, 2026. https://www.annexgalleries.com/artists/biography/1217/Keller/Henry.